The Art House, Wyong
Wednesday 10 July 2024
Photographer : Kevin Bull
Reviewer : Justine Grainger
Firstly it is completely awesome to have an international act like Macy Gray in Wyong! Kudos to the promoter & the Art house. The central coast community are huge music lovers so totally appreciate this, thus the sold out gig.
It certainly was a nostalgic night hearing those chart topping tracks from 25 years ago! Macy had the crowd up out of their seats & dancing like they’d been transported back to their twenties. With the set dominated by 1999’s commercial breakthrough, On How Life Is, cover’s of Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ and Bobby Hebb’s ‘Sunny’, and finishing off with a medley of ‘I Try’, ‘The Letter’, and new single ‘I AM’, the crowd joined in to every song throughout the evening.
To have a soul album top the charts in ’99 was just fantastic. It was a genre busting sound with a tonne of class. Unfortunately, the show was missing all that. The backing vocals were all prerecorded as were a lot of the instruments. The sound was definitely lacking brass and just all together oomph. I was waiting for a moment that just didn’t happen. I didn’t feel any presence from Macy or the band. I felt like they were going through the motions.
The intermission was left up to the band to fill in for Macy to have a wardrobe change. The song choices made the night feel like we were watching a cheesy ’90s cover band.
She seemed to struggle hitting some notes & barely sung ‘I Try’, making the audience do all the work. I don’t think people want to pay for cabs, dinners, drinks. babysitters & a couple of hundred $’s of tickets per couple to not hear her sing her biggest hit especially on its anniversary tour.
Positives: fun, nostalgic
Negatives: no soul
